Inside: Taking Inventory 2020 looks a little different this year. Check out my review of this year.
Taking Inventory 2020
What can I add to this year? Perhaps a story. . .
About halfway through 2020, I remember walking home from the farm, and as I headed down the short path to my door, I prayed. “Lord, this is an awful year,” I said. I’d been feeling discouraged and somewhat fearful.
Just that quick I heard that still small voice of God say, “Don’t say that it’s a bad year.”
Now, some of you reading this will understand, and some of you won’t. Words are of particular importance to me, and I believe in the power of what you say and think, so I am very careful in this regard. So when the Creator of the universe says to not say something, I listen.
Except for that one instance, I have not said it’s a bad year. Not that I haven’t wanted to–a lot at times. But I didn’t want to own that. In fact, back in March when little was known about Covid and folks were stocking up for two weeks and even a month, I said this prayer: “Lord, I want my life to be as normal as possible.”
Want to know the strange part? It has been.
I work from home, anyway, and routinely I leave the farm about once or twice a week on errands. Aside from buying two week’s worth of some things that first week, we didn’t stock up after that. We resisted the great toilet paper wars of spring, and I shopped no differently than usual. When faced with a temptation to stock up in meat or other items, I didn’t. My thought was that someone else might need those things, and God had reassured me I would find everything I wanted when I needed it.
And I did!
The Questions
No end of year review would be complete without the annual contemplative questions. Note, just answering the first two can tell you a great deal about your year, but I like this slate of ten questions I’ve put together. Here are my answers.
1. What worked?
Prayer. So often negative emotions fell by the wayside while praying and walking.
Optimism. Yes, optimism.
Gratefulness.
Grace. Bucket loads of it, extended to myself and others.
Pressing the pause button on work commitments and taking time off during Mike’s vacation weeks. Normally I work through parts of his time off. Not this year!
Watching classic sitcoms–my guilty pleasure this year has been Magnum, P. I.
2. What didn’t work?
Listening to rumors. So many news items put out there turned out to be false. (And still are, unfortunately.)
Expecting myself to act normally–get as much accomplished. (This is where the grace part came in.)
3. What surprised you? (Whether good or bad.)
So I imagine most everyone would say “pandemic.” And while that would be the first thing, and it’s been discussed ad nauseum, let me mention what surprised me most after that. After decades of shopping in one place, we’ve now started going to another nearby town. That might not sound like an odd “surprise,” but it has been. I tend to be such a creature of habit, and where I shop locally is important to me.
4. What disappointed you?
If I’m being honest, the bad behavior of some people in this country and those who egged them on.
5. What were you most proud of?
How far I’ve come in not letting perfectionism rule my every response. I noticed this especially when I was cleaning the house for Christmas. It was freeing to not feel bad because I couldn’t make everything as nice as I would have liked. Growing in the area of prioritizing what means the most, I guess you could say.
6. What gave you the most joy?
A summer visit with my brothers, sisters-in-law, and nieces and nephews. Hanging out with Mom. A day trip with Mike to Hannibal, MO. Growing flowers. Christmas Eve traditions and stories this year.
7. What drained you?
Worry, at times, and, really, the emotional toll of this year which often manifested itself as fatigue.
8. What wasted your time?
Worry. Comparing myself to others’ imaginary accomplishments listswhich, at the end of the year, were mostly less populated than mine. (We share our accomplishments in my writer’s critique group at the end of every year.)
9. Who did you enjoy spending time (or connecting) with?
Mike, Mom, Emily, and Jared. My hairdresser Kaitlyn. I love the critique group my sister-in-law Karisa and I started! My regular critique group. Phone conversations with my friend Patty.
10. What gave you the most peace?
Quiet times with God. As the year progressed, knowing like the sun comes up that everything is going to be okay, and God has a marvelous plan in store! (Yes, I really believe that!)
A ‘Simple’ Word
My word for the year was spot on. Going into 2020, I thought, I’m already there. Maybe God’s choice for my word means me learning even more about living a simple life.
No, that wasn’t it. . .
Because of the challenge of just living with day-to-day change and not being able to plan much ahead and waiting, waiting, waiting, I found it hard to focus. This is another area where grace came in. Many days, if I accomplished just one thing, I counted it as success. Simple became the way to approach my days. Letting things go “just this year” was a way to cope with the disappointment of not doing some of the things we do in a typical year. Simple was the way I conducted my life, paring it down to what was most important. Being okay with that.
Simple was simply the perfect choice for 2020.
What is my word for 2021? I have no idea. Word of my word hasn’t arrived yet. (Pun intended.) You’ll be the first to know when it does.
Farewell, 2020!
Resources and related posts:
Patsy Reiter
Amen! Patsy
Debbie Andre
Amy,
Hello! I just wanted to say thank you for your blog. I happened upon your article as
I was interested in planting my sweet potato which is sprouting beautiful leaves.
I was also searching to see if I could subscribe to your blog–not sure if possible, but
would enjoy receiving blog emails.
Anyhow, your writing also blessed me so! I believe we have much in common as I further
read your inspirational pieces. While I have lived in San Francisco, California, all of my life,
I feel now like the proverbial “fish out of water”. Times have certainly changed since 1965! 😀
It’s good to hear that you trust in God, as He is our strength.
Have a lovely Sunday, on this 10th day in January of 2021! You are in my prayers
and I so appreciate your writing! 🙂
Debbie Andre
A Reader from SF